Tourism, as you well know, is booming in Cuba. The demand for tours, flights and hotel accommodations in the country are at an all time high, good news for these companies, which are meeting the demand with a variety of new offerings.
Apple Vacations’ New Cuba Tour
Agents, you’d be wise to book your clients on Apple Vacations’ new Seascape Discovery tour as soon as possible, seeing as the tour operators’ 2015 tours, which launched in July, is already sold out. The new 8-night tour features one pre-night in Miami, four nights in Havana at the IBEROSTAR Parque Central and three nights in Varadero at the IBEROSTAR Varadero, plus sightseeing tours, interactions with local artists, salsa lessons, a boat ride through an underground river, pottery demonstrations, rum and cigar tastings, and samplings of authentic Cuban cuisine. Rates start at $5,550 pp dbl, and include Cuban health insurance, charter flights departing from Miami (connecting flights from other U.S. cities available) and Cuban tourist visa processing. Apple Vacations’ tours depart Feb. 13, March 26, April 30, May 28, June 25, July 30, Aug. 27, Sept. 24 and Oct. 29, 2016, and must be booked 64 days in advance of departure. For more information, visit applevacations.com.
Cox & Kings’ Insider Access to Cuba
Cox & Kings is offering a new series of culturally immersive, private and escorted group tours in Cuba. The Cuba—History & Culture: People to People collection, with departures beginning in March, allows guests the opportunity to experience the Cuban culture and history firsthand from visiting the University of Havana and meeting students to spending time with Cuban artists at their studios. Guests will also be able to engage in discussions about U.S. and Cuban relations with a Cuban expert, explore Ernest Hemingway’s house and visit a Havana cigar factory to learn about cigar rolling. In the island’s countryside, they’ll meet with organic farmers, and explore Pinar del Rio’s limestone hills, rivers and caves. The tour will also include guided walking tours of Old Havana with local historians and an architectural overview of the city’s most famous buildings designed in the 1940s and 1950s. Rates start at $5,560 pp dbl for groups of 24 guests. Rates start at $7,995 for two guests traveleing together or $6,445 pp for four people traveling together. Guests who book by Jan. 31, 2016 for travel on March 24, 2016 will receive a credit equal to the airfare between Miami and Havana (approximately $595 savings pp). For more information, call (800) 999-1758 or visit coxandkingsusa.com.
Travcoa Covers the Big Three: Community, Culture and Cuisine
Travcoa is offering three Cuba tours—the 7-day Community, Culture and Cuisine: Cuba, starting at $5,995; the 10-day Community, Culture and Cuisine tour, starting at $8,495; and the 20-day Signature Expeditions—Cuba & South America tour, starting at $65,950. On the 10-day Community, Culture and Cuisine: Cuba itinerary, guests watch musical performances, take a steam train ride to the Sugar Museum in Cienfuegos and Cayo Santa Maria, and participate in cooking classes, architectural tours, and visit the Bay of Pigs and its museum in Havana. The Community, Culture & Cuisine: Cuba tour includes deluxe rooms in the best available hotels, three meals per day, including Travcoa’s Dine-Around Program, which allows guests a eat at any a la carte dining restaurant they choose; and a professional travel director as guests’ personal concierge, plus local sightseeing with an English-speaking guide and a Travel Guard medical emergency and assistance plan. Guests who book by Dec. 30 on one of Travcoa’s Community, Culture & Cuisine: Cuba small-group journeys, save $350 pp on the 10-night itinerary or $250 pp on the 7-night itinerary, with the code Cuba4Me. For more information, call (844) 672-5142 or visit travcoa.com.
Cuba on the “Cheap”
CheapCaribbean.com’s new 8-day Cuba tours, starting at $5,550 pp dbl, begins departing in early 2016 from Miami. The tour starts with an overnight stay in Miami, followed by four days in Havana, featuring walking tours and driving tours in a 1950s classic antique car at popular sites including the Revolution Square; Fusterlandia, a community art project; and Las Tres Monedas, a local lounge owned by the famous artist, Kadir Lopez Nieves. Additional highlights include a visit to the resort town of Varadero, where travelers will meet with local artist Manuel A. Alvarez Suazo and interact with local musicians and dancers at the Casa de la Cultura; a stroll through Finca La Coincidencia, a farm founded by artist Hector Correa; and a tour of Casa Dupont, the former estate of American millionaire Irene Dupont. CheapCaribbean.com Cuba tours depart March 12, April 16, May 14, June 11, July 16, Aug. 13, Sept. 10, and Oct. 15. For more information, call (800) 881-2435 or visit cheapcaribbean.com/travelAgentProgram.jsp?gtz=0.
